Our work is divided into three parts which don’t seem to be connected: the relationships between people, the relationship between a person and the Creator, and the relationship between a person and the friends. When we have attained the corrected state, then all of the above will be united: a person with the whole world, a person with the group, and a person with the Creator.

All of reality must become inseparably merged together so that nobody has a greater or lesser importance in comparison to the others. This is what we call equivalence of properties. But since we don’t know how to arrange all these types of relationships correctly, how to measure each of them, we keep getting confused; so the Kabbalists explain that the most reliable thing to do is to work in a group.

After all, the Creator broke the collective Kli specifically so that each of its parts could work on its personal quality in relation to the others, so while separated from the Light, the relationships with others would replace the relationship of the creature with the Creator. This allows us to constantly examine whether or not we are working correctly.

According to the works of all Kabbalists, we need to extract this main principle: There is no Creator, creating being, or mankind; there is only the group. If I see a group where I can realize the laws of Arvut (mutual guarantee), then I must unite with them; I must do so.

Our unity must be such that no differences or distance will remain between us. We are together as one in the same sensation on the path towards the goal. And we understand that the spiritual world will be revealed only in this connection between us.

Then, to the very essence of our connection, I add the Creator because He defines exactly how to unite so that we do not become a gathering of scoffers, but an authentic group.

We don’t know what bestowal is, but we must demand that the Creator be our witness, model, and the connecting link. Hence, a person, the group, and the Creator become one whole. We will all work until we demand the revelation of the Creator among us.
[25035]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/27/10, “Make Yourself a Rav, Buy Yourself a Friend”

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A question that is arriving from all around the world now: How can we attain the right connection at the upcoming Convention and receive a good influence from the environment?

Answer: Every person is coming there without any obligations. There is no pressure. The most important thing is to feel as free as possible. I am coming to the Convention having left all my worries behind. When I am there, it’s as if I don’t have any problems. You should prepare as if you’re going on a picnic or on vacation, without a worry in your head.

Of course, it’s good to learn the songs and familiarize yourself with the preparation to the Convention site. But the most important thing is to come there feeling completely free. You should arrive at a place that does not pressure you in any way and promises you only pleasure and freedom. And in fact, that is exactly the state that signifies being close to the Upper Light.

In the spiritual world there is no pressure, problems, or difficult responsibilities. There’s nothing! Therefore, a person has to come to the Convention open to being happy!

Right now I am receiving many questions and letters from people who are experiencing difficult states and feeling stressed. They are unsure whether they should attend the Convention or not and whether it is the right thing for them. Some people get scared when hearing about mutual guarantee, thinking they aren’t capable of it. Some people have heard that it’s the place for receiving “Light” and they don’t know what that is.

People don’t understand that it is talking only about unity, which the whole world now has to reach! We wish to accelerate it before nature’s blows come down on us. The unity between us that we are trying to reach will enable us to reach the sensation of the Upper Light, the Upper Life. This unity will heal us of all the afflictions and problems.

Baal HaSulam writes at the end of the “Preface to the Book of Zohar” that our separation from one another is the source of all evil, suffering, diseases, and misfortunes. And vice versa, when we start to come closer to each other, we will purify ourselves of all problems on all levels, material and spiritual.

Therefore, come to the Convention freely and joyfully; no one obligates you to do anything! You don’t even have to bring a smile; we will organize that for you there. You just wait and see.
[25304]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/29/10, “The Freedom”

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Question: What is punishment? Is it the suffering in this world, a lack of desire to unite, or just an unpleasant sensation?

Answer: This always depends on the person. We need to realize that the four levels of nature – the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking – exist by means of the Light that pours on the desire. Out of these four types of the desire, only the speaking (human) level is able to purposefully respond to the Light.

As the desire grows, the Kli (vessel) begins to feel how it does not correspond to the Light. Nature suffers on all of its levels due to a lack of adhesion and an inability to reach it, and, naturally, man suffers the most. First of all, his desire is bigger and more susceptible, but most importantly, the end of the string is in his hands. He has the ability to go towards adhesion and pull the rest of the levels after him.

The suffering of the human degree gradually brings us to the realization of choice. And once man begins to understand that the problems are caused by his inactivity, it will be possible to speak about reward and punishment. Everything that previously happened does not play a part in this because the true categories of reward and punishment always correspond to the goal: the correction.

Man begins to understand that the Upper Governance operates in the world and uses reward and punishment in order to correctly direct him towards the goal and teach him through positive and negative consequences, just like parents teach their children in our world. Then everything that happens acquires a purpose in my eyes. Punishment, just like reward, is a correction, and the way I accept it depends on me.

However, I will only be able to accept it correctly in a group, the place where the Upper Governance needs to be realized. Reward and punishment are inseparably connected to my participation in the group, the mutual guarantee. I scrutinize reward and punishment as precisely as possible and relate to them the same way: I need them both in order to keep correcting the course time after time. Essentially, they are both rewards.

At the end we discover a simple thing: There is no punishment, and every state is given for the purpose of using it to the fullest extent in order to come closer to the Light.
[24407]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/21/10, “I Am the First and I Am the Last”

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With each step, we must exercise a balanced approach to the occurring events and not deceive ourselves in how we perceive reality. If, right now, the Creator and the Upper Governance do not exist in my eyes, then it is one of the mandatory states on my path of advancement. After all, the Torah is a practical method based on what I see with my own eyes.

In my feelings, I may or may not see the Upper Governance, but I am not required to believe somebody’s word. If a new egoistic desire overtakes a person, then he places himself first, just like Pharaoh: “Why should I listen to the Creator? Why should I listen to Him if He doesn’t exist?”

Without lying to myself, I must admit that I am in this state and examine myself closely. What instruments will allow me to reveal the Upper Governance under these circumstances, to reveal it with my entire being so that the corrected desire will bring forth the image of the Creator inside me?

Then I will see for myself that the Upper Governance exists and that the Creator had given me that state where I felt that I was the only power. According to the law of equivalence of form, the Upper Force will become revealed to me. And thanks to the corrected will to receive, the Upper Force will emerge in me, and the Creator and I will exist in Zivug (adhesion).

Then I will see that He is the first and He is the last, which assures me that I have completed the act and corrected the broken will to receive (desire) that was certainly given to me by none else but the Creator.
[24415]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/21/10, “I Am the First and I Am the Last”

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Question: In his article “The Matter of the Slanders,” Rabash writes that the state of Lo Lishma (not for Her Sake) leads to death. However, we also know that Lo Lishma is a necessary and very important degree from which we transition to altruistic intention. What is going on here?

Answer: In the state of Lo Lishma, my intentions are still aimed at personal gain, material or spiritual. This, as such, is death indeed. I am not moving toward death; I am in it, in the will to receive for myself. Below this state, I reside at the animate level and don’t exist in the spiritual sense. On the other hand, Lo Lishma is a new state which is my relation to spirituality: I want to take advantage of it.

We are talking about the stages of development: this world, preparation (Lo Lishma), altruistic intention (Lishma) in the category of Hafetz Hesed (not wanting anything for oneself), and finally, the level of love.

The intention of Lishma during the stage of preparation is already good. We acquire it starting from zero and end at 100% where we have fully prepared ourselves. At this point, I have to understand that to the extent that I make myself depend upon the group determines how well I progress toward Lishma.

A person by himself will receive nothing that might lead him directly to the correct request, not from the books, nor from Above. After all, Lishma is a request for unity. And only in unity, from the equivalence of properties, a person asks for the contact with the Light, the bestowal, the Giver.

Herein lies an opportunity for precise and specific examination: If we view things through the prism of the group, unity, and Arvut (mutual guarantee), we find in them the Torah, the Light that Reforms. That is the exact place where everyone receives the gift of the Torah, and then a person penetrates deeper and deeper, becoming closer in his properties to the Creator.
[24293]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/20/10, “The Matter of Slanders”

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Question: While forming a group we have to pay a lot of attention to external things, as if we’re taking care of a baby. How can we keep from losing the inner essence during this process?

Answer: Every group encounters this problem and every member of the group asks this question.

We live in a world of material actions. How many hours a day do I spend on satisfying my natural needs, such as sleeping, eating, and washing? How many hours a day do I have to work, carry out responsibilities around the house, and so on? And how much time do I have left for myself and my spiritual advancement? I have maybe one or two hours a day left if I manage to separate from everything else in some way.

That is how our life is arranged. Who arranged it this way? Could it really be the Creator? Why does He make us drown in this material, animate existence? Why didn’t he make us like angels, unburdened by worries about our bodies, home, and children, so the only thing we had to do is build connections with each other?

Yet, in reality everything is very different. Any work we do, even work unrelated to the group, is pure spiritual work. We just don’t know about it or understand it. By carrying out the responsibilities of an employee, a family man, a citizen, and so on, I correct myself. I may not see exactly how I do it, but it is nevertheless so.

I am allowed to devote just a small part of my life to spiritual correction. As I perform this correction, if instead of studying, I work on organizing the life of the group, I thereby support and strengthen the connection in our common system.

Obviously we also can’t forget about having a fair distribution of the burden among all of us. And more generally speaking, this is a vast topic that we will definitely come back to.
[25275]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/29/10, Writings of Rabash

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The Zohar, Chapter “BeShalach (And Pharaoh Sent)” Item 37:  Because of the mixed multitude, they were not called “the children of Israel,” or “Israel,” or “My people,” but simply, “the people.” When they rose from Egypt and the mixed multitude had not bonded with them, He called them “the children of Israel.” When the mixed multitude bonded with them, He called them “the people.”

Speaking of what occurs in a person, the “mixed multitude” (Erev Rav) are the desires that seem to be walking a spiritual path and choose it, thinking that it is the way to advance. However, every time they decide to advance, they intend to use the Creator, the Upper Light, for themselves, for reception.

This is the most treacherous, impure force (Klipa, shell). They wish to use the Torah to satisfy various demands of egoism in their corporeal life. All the problems of the nation occur because of this Klipa regarded as the “mixed multitude.”

It is easy to discern them on the spiritual path if you recognize that it is an egoistic form that has no relation to spirituality. If I desire any pleasures of this world (food, sex, family, money, fame, power, or knowledge), such desires are regarded as the “nations of the world” in me. They want only this kind of fulfillment.

But when I start studying the Torah and want to receive earthly, egoistic fulfillment (the very same money, fame, power, and so forth) with its help, this is called the “mixed multitude.” I engage the Torah, the force of advancement and Light, in order to use it for my egoism.

All this must take place in every person on the spiritual path. After all, everybody consists of everybody else as it is written, “There is no righteous man on earth who has done good and did not sin first.” Everyone will have periods (if they haven’t occurred yet) when, amidst his spiritual advancement, there will arise a desire to make money, have power, and so on. The only question is how quickly and how correctly he will exit this state.

Similar divisions exists in the corporeal world as well. There are “nations of the world,” those who desire to receive all that there is in this world. Their desires are simple, without any yearning for spirituality, for the wisdom of Kabbalah.

There are also people who strive for spirituality and yearn to attain it to the best of their capacity. And there are those who engage in spirituality as well, but not to uncover their “evil inclination,” correct it, and thereby get closer to the Creator, meaning to use the Torah as it was intended. Rather, they study the Torah in order to get all possible wealth, fame, and power from it. Hence, it is written that all problems after the exodus from Egypt took place because they brought with them the “mixed multitude.”

So it is in our generation: There are those in the nation who study the Torah in order to gain from it the Light that Reforms and correct themselves, and there are those who engage in the Torah in order to obtain power and wealth for their earthly life.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/20/10, The Zohar

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Question: How is a congress related to the idea of a form clothed in matter? Isn’t it an illusion of this world?

Answer: A congress is the means with the help of which we wish to create an enormous, powerful desire (Kli, vessel). All who are part of this Kli will take pleasure in the Light that will be revealed in it. To take pleasure means to use this Light for correction.

What is a congress? A congress is the creation of the system where all parts are connected with each other. We hope that we will create such a connection between us, and in it, there, we will discover equivalence to the Light, the Creator. Every person will feel it to the extent of their being connected to this Kli, and that will become his spiritual revelation.

Creation of this collective Kli depends on everybody. It also depends on how well everyone is incorporated into the collective Kli because later, every person receives the sensation of the revealed Light depending on his measure of personal participation.

Everyone benefits from the collective desire inasmuch as they participate in it. This is the law of interaction between an individual and the group, and it is a real action.
[24321]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/20/10, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”

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Question: When I enter spirituality, will I be able to visualize my more advanced states?

Answer: The problem primarily lies in the current states. In proportion to my acquiring the screen, the Light paints pictures for me. The spiritual world is an image of my equivalence to the Creator.

At present, I don’t perceive the spiritual world because I don’t possess an adequate degree of equivalence with the Creator. Between me and Him there is a screen. And on this screen, instead of my equivalence to the Creator, I see this world, my projection, an imprint of my uncorrected properties, and my inadequacy with the Creator.

As I get corrected, a new picture unfolds for me, which is called “the corrected me,” “the Creator illuminating me,” or “the world where the Creator and I are together.” They all are one and the same picture, depending on how we view it.

Spirituality is an image of the form of my equivalence to the Creator.
[24324]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/20/10, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”

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First, we need to tune into the group and find in it the independent Kli (Vessel), the sixth sense. In the same exact manner, the sixth day of the week rises over the other five days and prepares them for the Sabbath. We, too, need to prepare all of our senses and above their egoism, build a new sense based on the screen and the reflected Light.

A person annuls himself, unites with the friends, and thereby builds a Kli through which he can perceive reality. In this Kli, he reveals the 613 desires, the construction of the soul. In this Kli, in his connection with others, one discovers a net and in this net, all the various desires and relationships.

As he gathers them and puts them into order, he suddenly sees how they become the ten Sefirot, the desires of his soul. In it, in its structure, he begins to reveal the Light, or the Creator, in direct, reflected, inner, and surrounding Light in the reverse and front sides. A person continues to develop this Kli, this sense, to verify and delve deeper into it, ascending by the degrees of self-rejection and interaction.

His Kli becomes more and more complex, more and more perfect, until a person realizes the principle of loving his neighbor as himself. This love builds and forms the Kli, unifying its parts, due to which a person reveals different forms of connection and builds them according to mutual bestowal.

There, in this Kli, in these ten Sefirot, he “draws” the image of the Creator, the universal force of bestowal. Such is our work, and we always conduct it in an environment which becomes the group, the soul, and takes the form of the Creator.
[25147]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/28/10, “According to What is Explained Concerning Love Thy Friend as Thyself”

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